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UFSW Hunger Games/Season 2 Issue 3
This is #3 of the second UFSW Hunger Games ''titled "''Last One Wins.". The issue introduces A Long Road to Fortune, Step by Step and The Dead World. It was released February 1st, 2015. Issue 3 - "Last One Wins." William Hayes sprints through the dense forest brush, knocking branches out of his way with quick, powerful sweeps of his forearm. His breaths come in harsh bursts as he runs. Every few seconds, he looks behind him, keeps an ear out for the disembodied groans that wreck the air periodically. He assumes he must have outrun those infected by now, but he just wants to make sure the space between he and them is more than big enough. But then a group of three zombies appears from the foliage, stopping Will in his tracks. He breaks left, halted by another trio. The area to his right flaunts a similar threat, but now he’s met with five snarling faces. He’s weaponless, his trusty crossbow nowhere in sight. He bends down and grabs the two biggest stones he can find--he flings one forward and it lodges itself in one of the infected’s eyes. It topples over on top of its undead friend. Will turns the other way now and gives the other stone a throw. This one hits an infected in the jaw, making the lower half of its face tumble to the leaves below. But now he has nothing, and nine infected after him--not to mention that group that was pursuing him before. He looks up. A large tree looms over him, with branches low enough so he can climb. He reaches up and hooks his fingers around the bark. His previous military experience has given him sufficient agility to pull himself up with ease. One of the zombies grabs at his ankle, but he kicks; the bottom of his newly-acquired combat boots rips through its face. He pulls his foot away and shakes off the excess blood and skull bits from it. He pulls himself up to the next branch, and the next, until he’s high enough that the infected are no longer a threat. The branch is sturdy enough to hold his weight, so he sets himself on it, his legs dangling. “Yeah, how’s that feel, fuckers?” he calls out, watching as the infected uselessly reach for him. He laughs quietly to himself, then reaches into his pocket. That note. He inspects it, turns it over in his hands, puts his face close to it to see if there’s something he missed. All he sees is ‘22 PEOPLE. KILL TO SURVIVE, LAST ONE WINS’ in those red, bold, simplistic letters. Nothing more. “Kill to survive, kill to survive…” he mutters under his breath, giving the note one last scan before folding it up and stuffing it in his pocket again. He looks down again, scowls at the infected. He needs to find a way to get rid of them, a way to find out what the hell is going on and where he is, but for now, he’s got nothing. Until he hears a feminine grunt somewhere far off. Then, the sickening crush of a skull being destroyed. Will cranes his neck to see who it is, but he can’t make out a face--only the rustling of bushes. Finally, a familiar figure emerges. She holds a long stick, the end sharpened to a deadly point now covered in blood. “Bella?” Will says disbelievingly. “Will?” the woman says just as incredulously. “Need some help?” “Please,” he says with a chuckle. She goes to work, bringing the stick far back and lunging it forward, directly into the forehead of one of the infected that, just a few seconds ago, was hungry for Will. A few others approach--some are still focused on reaching him, but the rest have found an easier meal in Bella. She gives the stick a swing this time and knocks an infected over; before it can try and get back up, she stabs it clean through the temple. Using the uneven terrain to her advantage, she takes out the last seven with relative ease--they tumble over twigs and rock, making it easy to finish the job, or get caught in some of the more dense thickets of trees. Breathing heavily by the time she’s done, she carefully steps over the corpses and makes her way back to Will. He’s just finished climbing down, and he wipes the front of his pants clean. “Nice seeing you here,” he says. She smiles at him, still trying to catch her breath, and nods toward him, eyeing the piece of paper sticking from his pocket. “You got that, too?” she asks. She reaches into her own pocket and retrieves an identical message. He grabs his own paper and opens it up to reveal the red writing, a silent confirmation. “‘Kill to survive...’ Looks like you’re at a disadvantage.” She gives her makeshift weapon a little lift, and Will chuckles. “Here--you’re probably better with it than I am.” She tosses it to him, and he catches it easily. “Alright, what’s our first plan of action?” he asks, and they begin to walk, side by side. “Find out where we are--” “A forest.” He gives her a mischievous glance, and she returns the look with one of mock annoyance. “Yeah, I think I figured that out. Guess it’d be better to ask why we’re here.” He kicks a stone and watches as it rolls behind a bush. “Good enough for me.” ---- Ashton was an intelligent one. Some considered the teenager to be a delinquent, but to those who knew him, knew just how he was. Ashton was smart, strong, brave, and most of all, caring. Ashton was never one to bond with people, but yet, held a strong sympathy for human life. It was a special trait that isn’t visible much in the apocalypse. Ashame he is going have to kill people now. He hasn’t thought much about how to deal with others yet. Most people tend to jump to that thought first. ‘How am I going to kill these people?’. ‘How am I going to survive?’. ‘How am I going to do this?’. Truth be told Ashton hasn’t been thinking much about himself. He hasn’t thought about his struggles, how he is going to survive, or what he is going to do. Instead his thoughts transferred onto something else. More specifically, onto someone else. Liza Cabera. That was the name of the beautiful woman he was lucky to be with. He didn’t deserve her, but somehow, she fell in love with him. She was one of the best people he ever met and most definitely the most beautiful, on both the exterior and interior. Her deep brown eyes, her warm smile that she would flash at him when he woke up, her flawless skin. God, he could rave on about her. Ashton instinctively digs into his pocket at the thought of her. Out he pulls the small, white note that has been plaguing everyone. The note of death. Ashton unravels the piece of crumpled paper and stares down at the paper, his eyes filled with emotion. Love is the emotion in his eyes. Love that feeds into motivation. He scrolls past the main message and down to the bottom of the page, where a special note played. A special note made for only Ashton’s eyes to see. At the bottom were bolded words shaded deep red. Ashton reread over the note in agony, wondering what it means. Ashton stares at the note in bitter agony. His life has gone down hill within the past few days. Just as Sergeant Mendoza was expanding Tecpan, the Cartel withered their way towards them. Ashton tried his best to forget what happened afterwards, although his mind denies him that wish. He wonders briefly if the Cartel was behind putting him on this mysterious place, but the note seems to debunk that. His mind trails back to Liza. It’s been so long since he saw her, longer than he wanted to admit. He would do anything to have her by his side once more. Unfortunately, anything seemed to involve getting through any hostile survivors. Not to mention the groseros that are most definitely out there. God, this situation was so messed up. A part of him wishes Valdez was there as he would most definitely know how to lighten the mood. Ashton, stepping out onto a clear green field, takes a look around. It didn’t seem like he was near any town, city, or heck, it doesn’t even seem like he was near Tecpan de Galeana, or even Mexico for that matter. Ashton sighed with a scratch to his forehead. Before he went searching for Liza he had to know where he was and how large this location was. He turned his head towards a cliff mountain to his left. It was maybe two miles away from his current location in the clear field, but didn’t seem much of a far walk away. The height seemed like an ideal location to get a scope of the location. ----- A beautiful, dark haired, brown eyed, latina woman paces around a small room. Her arms were crossed while her face was painted in an annoyed tone. She didn’t take to kindly to waking up in a small cabin. Liza lets out a deep breath as she comes to a stand still in the center of the room. Scratching her head Liza looks to the window on her right. It wouldn’t normal if she was alone, and as she expected, she watched at least a dozen groseros roam outside. She watches them roam with a keen eye, studying their movements. The thing about groseros was that they’re dangerous but completely predictable. If one knew their movements and antics then they could be dealt with easily. “I’ve gotta get out of here…” She mutters to herself in frustration. For the past hour she has been trapped in here, with only a few pieces of random items and a strange note to keep her company. Liza continues to pace around once more, thinking of a way out, as her eyes glance over to the damned note, which she previously tossed onto a table in anger. She grips the note once again and gives it another reread. Her eyes scan across the note. “22 people. Kill to survive…” She mutters to herself. “Last one wins.” At the bottom of the note, like Ashton, was an extra bolded, blood colored note. She rereads over it silently to herself. Liza knows exactly what the note speaks about. Liza was a kind, happy girl who cared deeply for her loved ones, however, there is something else brewing inside her. At the start of the outbreak she made a slow decline into moral grayness, where a sudden blood lust embarked inside her. The soft spot for her loved ones have kept that blood lust from taken full form, and she has been working on controlling it, but it still is there. Still, bloodlust or not, survival is her ultimate objective, and she will not hesitate to fight or it. That is where a problem lies. Her loved ones keep her at calm, but unfortunately, her loved ones aren’t there to help her. Ashton isn’t there, Mimi isn’t there, Yvette isn’t there, and Paloma isn’t there. No one is there to keep the darkness from taking over. Liza looks outside the window once more, letting out a grunt. She had to find a way out of this predicament. She throws the note to her side and looks around the small room once more. It is littered with numerous pieces of random supplies. With all these supplies she has to find a way to make something useful. She makes her way to the table and digs through the supplies. She finds some masking tape, nails, and a wrench. She glances at the three items for a moment, thinking of what to make. She tapes the nails around the one end of the wrench, giving it some extra damage, while also putting some more on the handle, giving her naked hand a better grip. She puts down her new weapon to make some more tools. She sits there for almost ten minutes making anything she can get her hands on. Firecrackers, throwing stars, and even a water filter. Luckily Paloma taught her how to make all these interesting supplies. Liza jogs over to grab the small bag that she found earlier in the corner. Liza packed in all of the supplies she made, except for her spiked wrench, which she armed herself with. With everything packed inside Liza looks around the roof, arming herself with a smirk once her eyes laid upon a wide air vent. “Perfect.” Liza drags over a spare table to give her a boost. She double checks to make sure she has everything she may need. Once done Liza uses the nails to get the cover off, and once off, she gives a quick inspection. Wide enough for her to crawl right through, and hopefully, lead right outside. Tucking the wrench away Liza proceeds to pull herself into the vent. Like expected she fit right inside, and thus, crawled her way through the vent, which quickly led her right a small opening on the outside. However, instead of dropping down onto the ground, Liza instead pulled herself onto the roof. Now with a better vantage point Liza had a clearer vision. There were more than a dozen groseros outside, way more than she expected. Liza counted twenty with one little glance, not even knowing if there were more behind the cabin. Moving across the worn out, elderly cabin’s roof, Liza tried to get a better view of the area. Besides the cabin the whole area seemed to be full of simple trees and grass. Nothing out of the ordinary. She added finding out where she is to her list of objectives but as of now she was more focused on survival, which meant getting off this rooftop. Some may have stressed over how to fight through the infected, but Liza was smarter than most. She already knew how to escape. Gripping the handy-dandy new firecrackers, Liza tossed a few to the side of the building. She watched them explode repeatedly into sparks with a smile, but her attention quickly transitioned to the groseros. Their predictable nature had them turn towards the source of the noise, and like predicted, they stumbled in that direction, giving Liza a clear path to safety. Liza showed no visible fear in jumping off the small cabin. She landed gracefully in a pile of bushes, with only a slight pain in her thigh. Nothing that wasn’t bearable, however. Liza was quick to roll onto her feet, double checking to make sure the dumb groseros were concentrated on the firecrackers. The dumbasses still were. Liza wasted no time in sprinting away from the area, with the noise of her running kept beneath the firecrackers’ explosions. Only two groseros didn’t go towards the noise but they were defeated by Liza’s wrench before they could make even a simple noises. ---- “Kill to survive…” A tall, dark haired, and quite handsome man reads to himself. “Kill to fucking survive…” The man sits seated on one of the many diverse rocks in the field. He wore a basic get-up consisting of jeans and a tee-shirt, but there was one stark difference between him and the other survivors. Hooked right onto his belt was a gold badge, a badge that the man wore proudly. An Indiana Police Badge, with the words “Pacino” painted right on it. He didn’t know why he woke up with the badge, but he was still glad to have it. Hector Pacino stood to his feet, scratching his ever so curious head. “The fuck is this shit…” Hector mutters out-loud as he begins to pace the area. He was currently at an old camp site, complete with firepit and rocks used as seats. It wasn’t anything fancy but it was nice-ish. Hector didn’t seem to care about the camp, nor about the bloody sleeping bags that accompanied it. “This shit is unnatural. That’s what it is, Hector.” Another voice calls across from Hector. Hector turns to face the woman sitting across from him. She was dressed similar to him, complete with her own police badge. She had her arms crossed as she sat on top the rock. This was Officer Amanda Olsen, one of them any officers paired up with Hector at the dawn of the outbreak. “Yeah. No shit, Olsen.” Hector scoffs as he continues to pace, thinking off a game-plan, while Amanda continues to sit there, her keen eyes glued onto Hector, monitoring his every action. Hector and Amanda were both officers stationed at Summercreek High School, a refugee center Indiana’s capital city of Indianapolis. They were, however, two different sides of the same coin. Hector was more outspoken, and most importantly, more power hungry. He performed questionable acts at their time of the school, so much so that he was locked up at one point in an ironic twist. Amanda held some respect for her fellow officer but she kept her eyes closely on him, debating on whether or not she can trust him. Amanda was a stark difference from Hector. She was much more stubborn and reserved, rarely speaking against those more outspoken, such as Hector himself. She was never much of the leader type and instead stayed in the shadows. Amanda was like a calculating machine with a keen eye, as no matter what the situation may be, she had her eyes on it. She actively monitors other’s actions, no matter how big or small it may be. “So what do you suggest we do?” Hector questions her from across the camp. Amanda bit her lip in response as she tapped her foot against the ground. “I say we find out what is going on before we do anything rash.” “Find out what’s going on? You wanna know what’s going on?” Hector tosses up the damned note and tosses it over to Amanda, who was quick to catch it. “That’s what is going on, Olsen. We’re in a damn game. We’re...just characters in someone’s fucked up entertainment.” “So..what do you suggest we do, Officer Pacino?” “What do I say we do? I say we rile everyone up and track down whoever put us here.” Hector never did like when people had more power over him, and in this case, the person who put them there, whoever the hell it may be. “And then we show them what it’s like to be apart of some game.” Hector had so many questions of what is going on, but of course, first came finding the man atop the throne. “And to those who don’t want to join us?” “Then they can’t get the hell out of our way or get put down. Their choice.” Hector scoffs. If it meant him or them, Hector would be pick him in a heartbeat. He had no problem with putting those down who stood in his way or threatened his life. Hector Pacino was a bloodthirsty man, a force to be reckoned with. Amanda had to kill once in her life. She didn’t even mean to kill the hostile man. She fired her rifle to give a warning shot, but unfortunately the bullet was a few inches off. It was a changing experience but she kept level-headed. She didn’t want to kill anyone else but if she had to Amanda knew that she could. “Like I said let’s not make rash decisions here. Let’s take a look around, clear our heads, and then we can talk more about our game-plan.” Hector looked at her, and for a moment, they simply stared at each other, trying to see who would give in first. Eventually, Hector came to the conclusion that if he wanted to survive than he needed her, so he sighed. “Fine. We’ll go your way.” ---- “I think I seen enough trees today that I just want to burn down every fucking forest in the world.” Will jokes to Bella, who was searching some bushes for anything useful. Food, water, or even weapons would do at this point. Bella lights out a small chuckle while searching through them. “You with me?” “Sure.” She replies to which Will chuckles. “So you gonna help me search here?” “You’re probably better at it than me and besides,” Will holds up his sharpened stick and dangles it, “I’m guarding the area.” Bella replies with a look of annoyance and rolls her eyes. “Just be lucky I gave you that thing, and just know I can take it back anytime.” Bella replies to him, and Will chuckles lightly. “Fine, I’ll help. Just know that if your ass is eaten then it’s your fault, not me.” Will say, taking his place next to Bella and looking into the bushes. A few minutes ago Bella suggested they search the bushes for berries, or even any hidden weapons. Will liked the idea so he didn’t argue. Digging into a few bushes he finds nothing, and Bella seems to have the same result. However upon reaching into a small bush to her side, Bella is surprised to feel something inside it. Yanking her hand out she sees a pistol, and she gladly takes it. Will, who noticed Bella finding something, cranks his head to see Bella holding a pistol. It looked in great shape. “Nice work.” He remarks. “How is it?” Bella takes out the clip and surprisingly finds it fully loaded, and smiles before putting the clip back in and cocking it. “Fully loaded.” “Damn nice.” Will looks down at his basic weapon, then up at the pistol. “Wanna switch?” “Why? You don’t like the stick.” She mocks, waving the pistol in the air while doing so. “I think I’ll hold onto this.” “Alright, alright. Just askin’.” Will gives up while Bella puts the pistol in her waistband. “Well now that we got something useful, what do you wanna do now?” Bella asks the pondering Will, who shrugs. “Well we still have no idea why we’re here, or where this is. Maybe find a map?” Will suggests, and Bella doesn’t argue. Seemed like a good enough plan. It was in that moment however Bella noticed something out of the corner of her eye, causing her to reach for her pistol. Will to turned around and looked at the sight; nothing. Legit, there was no infected or people. “There’s nothing there.” “Thought I saw something.” She defends herself, lowing her pistol. “I don’t know if I trust you with that anything. Might shoot me by mistake.” Will gives a mischievous smirk. “Shut up or I just might.” She smirks slightly. “Alright so map?” “We should to try and find some shelter too, looks like it’s gonna get dark soon.” “We’re in the middle of some forest. I’m finding shelter kind of unlikely, we might as well just camp on behind some bushes.” She shrugs, noticing a slight sigh from Will. “Not looking forward to sleeping on the road?” “Not at all.” He scratches his head. “Not looking forward to any of this shit.” “What shit?” “Let’s face it Bell, we’re apart of some game.” Will shrugs. “Some sort of ‘hunger games’ shit if you know what I mean.” “Since when do you have a problem with cracking skulls?” She gives him a smirk, and he chuckles lightly. Both Will and her have cracked skulls many times so it was no problem. Over the course of the apocalypse the two have crossed paths with a man by the name of Riley Vega, a psychopath who only relished in murder. He ruined the lives of both Will and Bella beyond repair, but luckily they picked themselves back up, despite the rips at their souls. “I don’t got a problem with it at all. I’d just rather do it on my terms, not because some--note tells me too.” Will scratches his chin lightly. “Nothing ever goes our way does it?” He asks with a slight chuckle to go with it. Bella shakes her head. “Of course not. But I like a challenge.” “Me and you both.” Will looks around the area. From what he could see this wasn’t just any small forest. No, this seemed more like an island. The whole ordeal was confusing to him. He had so many questions, but questions never got answered, especially not in this situation. He sighed. “So how do you wanna play this?” “We’re gonna have to do what we gotta do.” Bella and Will make their way down the dirt road toward the unknown future. “If people wanna fuck with us, then we fuck with them back. That’s all we can really do.” “That’s what I thought you’d say.” William tucks his hands in his jean pockets. “What we gonna do about the ones who….don’t necessarily won’t to do this shit?” “I don’t know. What are we supposed to do? Tuck them into a bed, give them some food, maybe a little bedtime story? Fuck, Will, I don’t know what we can do.” William scratches his scruffy chin. “Maybe we can gather up some people, those won’t try to kill us anyways, and make some sort of group. This….bitch who put us here will have to surrender and let us go.” “And why’s that?” “What is she gonna do if we all refuse to kill each other? Grab a fucking RPG and shoot at us?” Will chuckles. “She will have no choice but to stop this shit.” “Yeah. Yeah, I guess.” Bella crosses her arms, slightly cold by the cold breeze. “Only plan we got, I guess.” “You’re welcome.” “I bet I could have thought the same thing.” Bella playfully teases. Will rolls his eyes at such a response, so she gave him a kick to the shin. “Don’t roll your eyes at me.” Will chuckles at her attempt to hurt him, so he lightly pushes her with his one hand. “Don’t you kick me.” Bella scoffs Will, quickly reminding him that she has a gun tucked in her pants by giving it a tap. “Is that a loaded pistol in your pants or are you just happy to see me?” “Just...shut up.” Bella shakes her head with a chuckle, much to Will’s amusement. Will, however, also takes notice of Bella’s shiver as they meet the night breeze. “You cold?” “No.” Will could see her breath turn into a mist while she spoke. Bella was never one to admit the need for help when needed. Being the man he is, Will didn’t hesitate to take off his jacket, quickly handing it to Bella. “Will..” “Take it.” Will smiles at her, not lowering his offer at all. “Come on, I insist.” Bella smiles at him as she takes the warm jacket. It was a few sizes to big on her but it provided her a much needed warmth. “Thanks.” “Don’t mention it.” Will puts his arm around her, and in a cute act, kisses her forehead. The act gives Bella an extra warmth on the inside, but she makes sure not to show it. She may joke around with him alot but she really was glad she had Will. He was one of the best men she knew, and frankly, she thought he was a better person than she ever was. “Now, lets go find some shelter.” ---- “Get down!” Amanda shouts over to Hector. Amanda stands there with a pistol gripped in her hands, with her eyes both calm and frightened. “I got a shot!” Hector was across the field, currently finding himself in a brawl with one of the crazies. The two contestants had unknowingly walked into a horde of them, and having no weapons, were forced to combat them with hand-to-hand combat. Amanda handled it good, but Hector was a bit clumsy, despite his strength. Lucky for Hector, who was starting to fail in his combat, Amanda found a nifty pistol on one of the crazies she killed. Hector, finally listening to her, pushes the crazie off him and dives to the floor, allowing Amanda to take her shot. Amanda easily makes a headshot within her first try. Amanda soon performs a complete 180 to finish off the crazies approaching from behind her. Hector watched her gun down the incoming crazies, impressed with her marksmanship. He too was an expert marksman but it was always good to have another, just in case of a dangerous situation. He always knew she had a good shot, but seeing it now, it has him thinking. She may come in handy. Once all the crazies were exploded into red clouds of blood Amanda lowered down her pistol, although she still kept her eyes open to anything. Amanda turned around to watch Hector stand to his feet. He gave her a small chuckle. “Good shooting, Olsen.” “Anytime, sir.” Amanda nods. “You okay?” “Yeah. I’m fine.” Hector proceeds to wipe a few strains of blood off his shoulder. “Just some of their damn blood got on me is all.” Amanda nods at his statement, however, unknowingly to Hector, Amanda is keeping a close eye on him. She held that pistol close for a reason. It was hard to trust a man who uses force to control people, a man who shoots down innocent people for ‘the greater good’. It is hard to trust a man who is, quite frankly, insane. Amanda was conflicted. She wanted to trust him but she had no reason to do so. The two officers walked silently down the dirt road, each thinking their own respective thoughts. Amanda kept her eye on their surroundings while she thought about her commanding officer while Hector was thinking about a game-plan. How he would rile up all the poor contestants, and in a heroic movement, lead them to this gamemaker. He would kill the man in charge and get everyone back home. Hector Pacino would be a hero to these people. A fucking hero. “So tonight we’ll take a look around, get a feel for our surroundings.” Hector commands as he walks down the road, kicking some dirt into the air as he does. Amanda eyes him with annoyance. Annoyance that he is taking charge of a two-man team without talking game-plans with her. “And tomorrow?” “We get everyone we can and find the bastard who put us here.” Hector looks down at her with his cold, distant eyes. Amanda does her best to hide her emotions but Hector can see problems arise in them. “Is there a problem?” “No.” “Don’t lie to me, Olsen.” Hector spoke with such a commanding, calm, smooth voice that at the same time was able to send fear. “I just wish you would talk to me before making these plans. That’s all.” “What is there to talk about? You got anything else in mind?” Amanda didn’t respond to Hector’s question, so in a show of force, he grabs her by the shoulder. “Did I stutter?” “Well, not yet, exactly. But don’t you think going after this game-maker is even the tiniest bit stupid?” Amanda shrugs. “For all we know the dude isn’t even here. We gotta focus on what we know, not on predictions. “And what do we know, huh? What exactly do we know?” Hector scoffs her response. “We know shit. We don’t know where we are, why we’re here, and who put us here. The only thing we know is that they’re our others on here and someone wants us to kill them. Unless you wanna go around and shoot everyone, which I highly doubt that you can or would, my plan is the best.” “No, I don’t wanna kill everyone, but do we have a choice here? It’s that, sir on our asses and do nothing, or find a way to get off this...island.” Amanda reminds him. “I’m thinking realistically here.” Hector doesn’t respond to her response, much to her annoyance. Amanda lets out a small sigh. “Hey, speak to me. We’re partners here, Hector. Got that? Partners. You’re not in charge of me. So speak to me like a human being and not some servant.” Her comments put some salt in Hector’s wound, immediately putting an angered frown on her face. Hector whips around to her and, much to her shock, grabs her by the shoulder. Hector was an intimidating man but Amanda was good at concealing emotions. She showed no visible fear as he stared her down. “Listen to me, Olsen. I like you, really, I do. But here’s the thing. I got a plan here, a plan I attend to follow through with. You, Olsen, are either with me or against me. You don’t like my plan? Fine by me. You can get the hell out of my way in that case. But, here’s what I think. You need me more than I need you.” “You see,” Hector continues, “I know what I’m doing. If it all goes right I will have a squad of people to help me. But you don’t. You don’t gotta a plan, you have no idea what to even do. If we were to go your way we would be walking around like zombies with no idea of what to do. But, if you stay with me, you have yourself a motive and an experience captain to help you survive.” Amanda silently stares at her respected commanding officer, her arms crossed like a stubborn woman. She won’t admit that he’s right that is not what Amanda does. “So what are you gonna do? If you wanna leave now is your chance. The door is there, there, there, and there.” Hector points to random sections of the forest, waiting for her reaction. However, after a minute of not speaking nor moving, it becomes apparent that Amanda is staying with him. “Good then. Now, follow my lead.” Hector continues to make his way down the dirt path, Amanda and her stern glare following right behind him. ---- Liza sprinted across the forest, ignoring any noise she make, or any grosero she may have passed. Liza was to focused on escaping the area as of the moment to even think about performing any other task. She wasn’t in any sense of danger, but yet, Liza felt the urge to run, probably to shake off the adrenaline she got from escaping the cabin. It wasn’t until Liza escaped the cabin that she deduced a break was in order. Having been running for so long she really could use a small drink. Liza first took a quick inspection of the area, and upon being sure there were no groseros around, Liza collapsed onto her knees to scoop up some water. If Liza weren’t so otherwise preoccupied on surviving than she might have taken in the beauty of her surroundings. The sparkly, blue lake complimented the beautiful shade of green that accompanied it. Better yet was the sky, which looked like a reflection of the lake at this state, and the bright sun that gave light to the mysterious location. Sure, the location very much be deadly, but it was beautiful. There was no denying it. Liza sighed as she scooped up some more drinking water. She really needed it after all that running. However, the more she allows her nerves to disappear, the more her mind drifted off to the burning question. What is she going to do next? A slither of her wanted to say she would go out, help those who are in need. Those thoughts were nowhere to be found on this day, however. Instead dark, muddled thoughts make their way around her brain. Thoughts of blood lust, a lust that will most certainly lead her down a darker path. There are twenty-one other people in this arena. Twenty-one people who won’t hesitate to take away Liza’s gift of life. The once kind-hearted girl lets out a grunt of anger at the thought. Liza is ready to accept the fact that everyone in these games are out for themselves, and as so, will be against her. They are gonna try to kill her, but there was only one problem. Liza wasn’t gonna let that happen. Nobody was going to take away her survival. The temptation of killing arises advances with each passing second. If they were against her than they had to be eliminated. That was the simple conclusion Liza came to. Without her loved ones, her blood lust was guiding her thoughts. They were guiding her to depart and kill any threats on her path of survival. This was not the innocent Liza Cabra that cared for everyone going up. No, this is Liza the survivor. Nothing was going to stand in her way of surviving. Liza Cabera was going to allow the thoughts she has been fighting off for so long consume her. ----- It wasn’t a hard climb to the top at all; at least, not as hard as Ashton earlier presumed. Besides having to step over a few rocks or landslides there was basically a pathway to the top. It was almost like the cliff wanted to be climbed. It was inviting Ashton to the top, and the young boy gladly accepted the invite. Ashton had to admit that, once he saw the layout of the land, he didn’t really have a plan. Yes, he was gonna go search for his beloved, but what then? Is he gonna find a way out of this mysterious location? Is he gonna find the person who put them here? He had no idea. Still, of course, first came finding Liza, wherever she may be. She was alive out there. He knew it. Most would question his devout love to Liza. Some would dismiss it as a “high school fling” or “fake love”, others would call it stupid and creepy, and some said that it would get Ashton killed. His love for her goes beyond any crush, however. Ashton came from a troubled background, complete with parental neglect and juvenile activities, but yet, Liza stood by his side the whole time. Even when all of Tecpan saw the worst in Ashton, Liza was one of the only soles to see the good in him, alongside the noble Mr. Chet and Ashton's dear aunt. Liza was one of the only pride and joys in his life, especially now in the apocalypse, and he was not going to lose her. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure she gets off this place alive, no matter the cost his soul may have to pay. Ashton exits his deep thought as he arrives at the top of the cliff. Wiping some sweat off his forehead Ashton quickly makes his way to the edge of the cliff. His agonized, caring eyes look out into the distance. It was a beautiful sight to take in. As the sun was currently setting Ashton chose the best time to look out. The sun looked as if it sat right in the ocean, letting an aura of orange-ish light to surround it and enter the surrounding area. In that moment he couldn’t tell where the earth stopped and the heavens began. It was as if they were intertwined on one path. He shifts his attention back below him, however, and inspects the area. Boy, he was right when he said the area must be large. They weren’t in any woods. They were on islands. Islands. Their mysterious location were three islands, all positioned closely and connected by what seemed to be bridges. The island Ashton was the island with the more woods-like location, complete with hundreds of trees, rocks, rocks, and God knows what else. The one to the left looked like a relatively more clear island, with more emphasis on campgrounds and abandoned villages. The one atop both of the islands seemed like a deadly combination of both. They all looked beautiful dangerous, each filled with their own horror for the contestants to face. From the mere size of these islands Ashton guessed it would take days to even get a trace of Liza. Luckily for Ashton he was never the kind of kid who needed sleep, always being so full of vigor. Gripping a small knife in his pocket, along with the note, Ashton kneels down. He turns the note over to it’s naked side, where slowly, Ashton uses the knife to make an outline of the islands. making himself a homemade map. Using a keen eye Ashton makes the most detailed map he could possibly make, before finally, rising to his feet. Tucking the note into his back pocket, but keeping the knife gripped in his firm palm, Ashton looked out into the distance. Fierce determination were painted in his eyes. He wasn’t going to let anything get in his way of finding his loved one, no matter what the cost may be. ---- Category:UFSW Hunger Games 2 Issues Category:UFSW Hunger Games Category:Issues